Chance me for Haverford!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Haverford College
1

Stats

SAT: 1380 (studying every day rn for retake SAT and take ACT)

W GPA: 98.22

APs:
School offers few APs, I have will have taken the most of any student in my school. (I think it shows taking initiative, should i tell them about that?)
European History: 4
US History: 5
US Government: 5 (self study)
Physics: 2 lol
this upcoming year I’m taking the APs: Calc BC, Envi Science, Comparative Government, English, Spanish, Studio Art
(Setting record for most APs in a year, in addition to most taken in general)

Awards:


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Top Artist Award from my school,
won top prize at my schools oratory contest, out of hundreds of competitors
Art Award from Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
Various Awards from my school for writing, history,
Various Debate and Model UN awards

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ECs:


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Art: I am currently working as a commercial artist, have been in art shows, i have made multiple commissions, selling original paintings and prints of my paintings. (I would def submit portfolio with application) I am starting a website to promote my work, hope to have this finished by application time.

Debate (9, 10, 11, 12):
team captain, contributed to team winning state championships in '17, '18
competed at NCFL '18 and NSDA '18 national tournaments, various awards from state and national level.

Model UN (9, 10, 11, 12): Secretary General (captain), various competition awards and leadership awards

Music-Jazz Ensemble Saxophonist (9, 10, 11, 12)

Athletics: Cross Country ( 9 jv, 10 jv, 11 jv, 12 varsity)

Boy Scouts: Leadership roles, doing Eagle Scout project right now (ugh)

NHS ( 11, 12), Peer Ministry (11, 12)

I am an appointed official in town government on my town’s Human Rights Commision, I was the youngest member to be appointed to it. This commission works to bring people together and spread knowledge of human rights, and fight hate/abuses against people.

Volunteered in a hospital summer '17

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Hooks
Significant connections to the college, i have relatives/ family friends are prominent alumni/donors. ( o you consider this hook?)

Other info

White, Male, Family income >300k

Would I make it into Haverford if I were too apply RD? ED?
Thanks to anyone who replies! I appreciate your response

2

If you look at other Haverford strings on this site and on the school’s own site, you are generally in the ball park stats-wise and activity-wise; it also wouldn’t hurt to get your SATs up to the mid-1400s. As has been discussed many times, it is hard to predict because Haverford places a tremendous amount of weight on the essays, interview (not required, but you are shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t have one), and letters of recommendation so as to determine a prospective applicant and the school are a good fit. They are looking for people who will be positive contributors to the campus community.

When my son took his first tour at Haverford, a parent raised the question of legacy preference at the Q&A session. The admissions staffers responded roughly as follows:

  1. We have a holistic admissions process that we feel helps us get to know applicants as individuals. We offer admission to those we feel will be positive contributors to the campus community based on their individual merit.
  2. While we do have a number of “legacies” – persons who have had a close family member graduate from Haverford – enter each fall, each has been admitted based on individual merit rather than family connection. It’s more of a case of the apple not falling far from the tree than rewarding a large donation: persons who “fit” well at Haverford and graduate could reasonably be expected to raise kids whose own merits make them good fits as well.

Personally, I wouldn’t mention that you have family/friends who have been donors in the past. Most HAverford students are not “hey, look at me!” types and I don’t think that would go over well with the admissions folks. I’ve been led to believe that Haverford’s development folks are less likely swayed by donors than their peers at other schools; if this is true, it would not be a hook for you.

Bottom line: You need to sell yourself and demonstrate why you would be a positive contributor on campus. If it’s your #1 choice, then apply ED1. Talk to the school’s admissions counselors, who are all very approachable, with any questions. While they can’t definitively say whether or not you will get in, they will tell you upfront if there is a significant red flag that might cause you to reconsider applying to Haverford. Best of luck.

3

I would like to add to the above post by suggesting that you do mention family ties to Haverford, just not the donor stuff. I do think that having family that have positive ties to the Haverford community will work in your favor as you have a higher chance of you being a good fit if you have family ties that understand what makes a good fit.

I do think you should try to increase your standardized test scores if you can. I think being a male with artsy interests works in your favor. Haverford admissions is minimally need aware so being full pay will work in your favor.

4

I’m the first to admit that I’m not an expert, but I disagree with the notion that you should mention your family ties but not the donor stuff. You should mention the donor stuff tactfully. Something like, “[Relative’s name] often tells me of stories about his/her days at Haverford and how they changed his/her life. S/he told me how important it was to pass that experience on to the next generation, and that s/he was fortunate to be in a position to pay it forward by funding some scholarships. I don’t know if I’ll ever be in the enviable position to have the financial resources to give back to Haverford in the same way, but I’m confident that I will be impacted by the Haverford experience in the same way.” (Obviously just off the top of my head. I think you get the idea.)

If it’s a really big donor, you won’t even have to mention it. Just list that person on your list of relatives who went to Haverford. They’ll know. And if it’s not on the scale of donating a library or something like that, your relative could probably place a phone call with his/her primary contact at the school and just let them know that you’re applying. They can even say not to give you special treatment, but just want to let them know they may have another from the family heading there soon. That should also be enough to get the message across.